2026 Winners

1st Place: “Save Our Parks”

Autumn Stock

"The Trump administration has shown through funding and staffing cuts that preserving National Parks is no longer a National priority. However, according to recent Conservation in the West poll findings, “The National Park Service receives the highest approval rating, as it did in previous years, with more than four-in-five (86 percent) saying they approve and nearly half (48 percent) who strongly approve of the job they are doing.” The National Park Service is essential for sustaining our public lands.

This topic hits especially close to home for me, as I grew up in Yosemite National Park in a family of park service rangers whose jobs were threatened by the Trump Administration. Not only is our public land in danger, but so are the stewards of the land that maintain its integrity and access. The job cuts represent not just a staffing crisis, but also the loss of decades of institutional knowledge and experience. To move forward with conservation for future generations, we must save our National Parks and protect the hands that care for them."

2nd Place: “Continued Conservation”

Addison Dunakin

"The 2025 Conservation in the West Poll finds that majorities of voters in all eight Western states oppose the reduction of some species under the Endangered Species Act. The Colorado River Cutthroat Trout is a symbolic example of how conservation efforts restore species populations. The population currently occupies a small percentage of its historic range due to disease, habitat disruption, and climate change (Western Native Trout initiative). Groups like Colorado Parks and Wildlife have worked to restore the population through egg-collection and hatchery, combating the decline of the species (Colorado Parks and Wildlife). Biological diversity is crucial to the success of an ecosystem. National Parks, wildlife, and endangered species in the United States are threatened under the current presidential administration; conservation efforts and scientific research matter now more than ever. The title of the poster, Continued Conservation, claims past efforts are not enough and that the fight is not over."

3rd Place: “Deep Roots”

Sam Daley

"I chose to address habitat loss and water pollution through the perspective of native grass. According to World Wildlife’s Fund’s 2025 Plowprint Report, over 2 million acres of grasslands from the Great Plains were destroyed to make room for crops, which eliminates the threatened native wildlife that depend on the grassland. The 2025 State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll indicate that the disappearing habitat of grassland animals is an issue that Westerners continue to care about, with 85 percent of Westerners believing that the loss of habitats is a serious problem. Additionally, the poll demonstrates that Westerners are concerned about water supply and pollution, with 58 percent of voters indicating that water pollution is at least a “very” serious problem. While the growing concern about habitat loss and water pollution can make the future seem bleak, I hope to remind the viewer that there is hope. Our roots run deep. Native grass conservation can literally make our future greener. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service elucidates how native grassland conservation has multiple benefits ranging from erosion prevention to habitat restoration. Conservation and restoration of native grasslands is not passive; it is active and beautiful. At the end of the day, the 2025 State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll shows that Westerners know how to appreciate the natural beauty of their states. Conservation can and should be something that brings beauty to our lives each day. Whether it be replacing invasive lawns with water efficient native grasses or restoring habitats for grassland animals, native grassland conservation is beautiful."

PROJECT BACKGROUND + DESCRIPTION

The ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 1969-1970s

Environmental crises of the 1960s, like the 1969 Santa Barbara, California oil spill and the 1969 Cuyahgoga River fire in Cleveland, Ohio, galvanized public concern and helped pave the way for major environmental legislation. Senator (D) Edmund Muskie and Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson believed the way to improve US quality of life was by improving environmental quality for Americans.  Eye-popping first photos of the moon taken in 1969 piqued curiosity and renewed wonder and appreciation for our unique planet. Scientists and activists pushed for protections and helped to establish several organizations and laws: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1969, The National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) in 1969, The 1970 Clean Water Act, and Earth Day in 1970. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962) and The Population Bomb by Paul R. Ehrlich (1968) communicated to the masses the critical state of our natural resources we faced as a nation, and garnered further support for the 1970s environmental movement. Advertising campaign posters were employed to effectively communicate the critical environmental issues of the times to the population while urging citizens and the government to take immediate actions.

Examples of 1970s vintage-style Environmental Activism posters:

Our current federal administration is working to roll back many of the environmental protections put in place decades ago -- alternative energy development and policies, like wind and solar power, have halted.  Directives to extract and burn fossil fuel as our chief energy source for the foreseeable future steer us away from finding solutions to attenuate some of the most severe outcomes of planetary warming. How will decisions to roll back, defund, and abolish policies, laws, research, and implementation of conservation and protection management practices affect us? To what extent are we concerned the environmental deregulations will exacerbate the warming of the planet?  What immediate steps should we take toward living more sustainably?

The State of the Rockies Conservation in the West Poll surveys people in the 8-state Rocky Mountain region about their attitudes toward public land conservation and other current environmental, social, and political issues we face living in the West. 

Voters surveyed in the 2025 State of the Rockies Conservation in the West Poll value the protection of public lands (67%) and elected officials who will address environmental issues like clean water, clean air, and wildlife (85%). No matter the political affiliation, Westerners supported the conservation of public lands and wanted public officials to protect them from drilling (72%) or housing development (86%). The poll consistently demonstrates a growing desire to protect land, water, and air for wildlife and recreation.
 

Show us the issue for which you stand!

Click on the links below to view the topics and responses to the poll.

Climate Change and the West
Conservation and Public Lands
Energy and Public Lands
Management of Public Lands
Water in the West
Wildlife in the West

Instant Access: 15 years of Rockies poll data made visual

THE CONTEST

ENTER TO WIN!!

1st  Place  $700    •  2nd Place  $500 •  3rd Place  $250

The theme of our example poster below is alternative energy.  We have updated our 1970s-style environmental poster with an updated by exploring the survey results on energy and climate change. Our mock-up is more of a spoof. Witty text and images are welcome.  

In addition to a digital image, your submission must include an explanation (about 150 words) of why or how your contemporary activism motto is relevant to current environmental values of residents reported in our 8-state Rocky Mountain West poll. Your poster theme must be based on a social, political, or environmental topic highlighted in the poll.  

Please submit a 150-word justification for choosing the issue you picked — explain to us why, how, and/or what efforts are critical to protect the Rocky Mountain West; actions we should take. Please also submit  screen shots of your poster making process.  Please send:

1. A sketch of your original idea.                                                                
2. 2-step proof of your process.  Please send a screen shot of your work at the beginning and middle stages of your design with the computer software you are using visible in the screenshot.  Software programs that you may use: Canva; Adobe Creative Suite, and any other graphic design package.
3. Your final image (should be 600dpi jpeg format).
4. Your poster justification. 

Our Rockies Team's Final Image:

The 2026 letterpress poster was designed from original art created by the
State of the Rockies Creative Team:  Theo Casper, '28, Libby Cutler, '25,
Waverly Fisher, '27, Lily Frost, '26, Cyndy Hines, Macy McCauley, MAT '25, 
Alison Mueller-Hickler, '26, and Annabel Meyer, '26.

Letterpress promotional poster designed for 2026 Vintage Poster Contest
by Linnea Anderson, Luana Cooper, Olivia Madden, Jeslyn Nguyen,
Jillian Sico, and Gray Simmons at The Press at CC.

NOTE* (Our final poster was created on a letterpress.  Yours will be the jpeg image).

Examples of past student 1970s vintage-style Conservation in the West poster submissions

"Wildflowers" 2024 Vintage Poster by Madeline Broadhurst, '25          

"Keep it in the Ground" 2022 Vintage Poster by Isabel DeVito, '25

 Questions?  email chines@coloradocollege.edu

MEET THE JUDGES

GUIDELINES